NTSB: Signal issues at site of NJ train derailment

Monday, December 3, 2012

PAULSBORO, N.J. (AP) — Investigators say other railroad crews have reported possible problems with a signal where a train derailed on a New Jersey rail bridge, spewing a hazardous chemical into the air.

National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman said Sunday that investigators will focus on the signal and bridge's locking mechanisms.

Investigators say the signal may have malfunctioned on the bridge where the train derailed Friday morning over a creek in Paulsboro, N.J. No serious injuries have been reported, but more than 70 people went to a hospital and an evacuation order remains in effect for a 12-block area.

Hersman says NTSB crews hope to enter the site Sunday, but that can't happen until vinyl chloride is pumped from a damaged tanker. They will use a crane to remove the derailed cars.